RALEIGH, N.C. - On Monday, March 31st, the Academic Support Program for Student Athletes (ASPSA) celebrated 334 student athletes at the Caterpillar Scholar Athlete Banquet. The students recognized at the event earned a semester grade point average of 3.0 or higher during Spring 2013 and/or Fall 2013, which included 180 Dean’s List recipients.

Men’s basketball duo, Staats Battle (junior) and Chase Cannon (sophomore), served as emcees for the evening. They gave a special thanks to the corporate sponsor, Caterpillar, Inc. for the recognition they provide to the students for their hard work throughout the school year. Chancellor Randy Woodson and Debbie Yow, Director of Athletics addressed the scholar athletes and commended them for their exceptional performances in the classroom and in representing NC State.

The invocation was given by Meredith Richardson, a senior on the women’s volleyball team. Denae Ford, a senior from women’s track and field, provided the student reflection and shared some highlights of her journey as a student and athlete and relayed some words of wisdom to her fellow scholar-athletes. Denae said, “Honestly, being a student-athlete has taught me a lot. It has taught me that I can do anything, literally anything I really want. If the work is put in early and you prepare accordingly, you will surely be ready when the opportunity comes knocking.”

After dinner, Jermaine Holmes, Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Director of ASPSA, recognized student athletes and teams for their various academic accomplishments. Special recognition was given to the Top Ten Scholar Athletes at NC State – these individuals have completed at least five semesters and hold the highest GPAs among student athletes at NC State:

Caterpillar, Inc. has sponsored the Scholar-Athlete Banquet since 2002. Jason Becker, Sponsorship Manager from Caterpillar’s Building Construction Products Division, based in Cary, NC, marveled over the academic accomplishments of State’s scholar-athletes and expressed Caterpillar’s commitment to the students and how proud they were to once again sponsor the event. He presented the Caterpillar Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence to Andrew Colley, a senior from men’s track and field and cross country. This award honors the student-athlete who has the highest cumulative GPA among student-athletes selected as All-Conference athletic performers in their respective sports throughout the academic year. This is the second year the award has been presented, which is made possible through a scholarship endowment provided by Caterpillar.